As part of an effort to help “green” the campus, the new Presdent of Rhode Island College, Nancy Carriuolo, is trying to make RIC more bike friendly and so has proposed ending the prohibition of bikes on the campus “mall” and has sought to have bike racks installed on campus. In fact, thanks to help from RIDOT, the City of Providence, and the Providence Foundation, funds from an old grant are to be used to get 18 bike racks at RIC, (the round hitches that we see downtown) which are to be installed at RIC expense. There is a “Green Team” committee to help decide where, but it turns out there are a lot of constraints (such as keeping ADA and delivery vehicle access clear, potential damage from snow removal operations) that got me thinking about guidelines for placing bike parking more generally. There is also the question of what to do about the bike lockers that are in Kennedy Plaza that apparently RIPTA wants to give away as they have been unused due to security and maybe other concerns.
I invite anyone with an interest in bike parking issues and prioritizing locations to post comments or e-mail me at bschiller@ric.edu, thanks.